Unlimited Days After
by manram
Summary: There are stories of intrigue. Of violence and victory, of blood and glory. These stories have traced the past of humanity, and will continue to do so. This is not such a story. This is just the love of two young people, who will continue to love each other to their Unlimited days after.
1. Chapter 1

**Well. Here we are.**

**For those who ask "Why aren't you updating GoS?!" The fault is of a crazy lich and of a cat of the desert.**

**Yes capo and sis, I am talking about you.**

**You continued to post happy Shirou and Rin!**

**You continued to say "Look at how happy they are!" on the discord!**

**You reminded me of this fic!**

**Now here I am!**

**Writing fluff!**

**And liking it!**

**So if you want to be unhappy with someone, the fault is of those two who corrupted me!**

**Now, I will leave the world to the two corrupters!**

_**Lich**_

_**Manram needs betas. Apply now by dm-ing him cuz he doesn't want me. Also, I know you all wish to thank me for proposing the idea and skeleton for this fic, just this once, I shall allow it. Drink a glass of milk and you will have satisfied me. **_

_**What? You want more? Fine. It's almost good enough for me to forgive you for Jonathan's corruption.**_

**Manram: more like I forget to send the documents… Also Jonathan sought it.**

_**Tungstencat**_

"_**One down, forty more to go! One day we may yet both get through our backlogs before they bury us forever. In a more serious note, thank you for writing this. It brought me so much joy."**_

**Damn you at making me blush.**

**Now here we go with a (I think) short twoshot!**

_**Unlimited Ever After.**_

_**To have and to hold from this day forward;**_

"_I hear someone's voice from far away!"_

Finding that tenderloin in the market was a rare stroke of luck.

It was really cheap even if the fat was of a splendid white while the meat had a bright red on it.

Damn it, Shirou even wanted to pay more for it. Just its appearance showed how good a cut it was after all, but the farmer had ardently (and, much to his annoyance, playfully) argued against it, using the fact that Shirou had helped him and some of his friends several times when their vehicles broke down or needed repair saving them a lot of money, stress and time.

Even his constant reassurances that he had only done so because it was the right thing to do, without expecting any reward from them, did nothing to dissuade the old farmer. If anything, it had only made his eyes shine brighter as he tried to lower the price even more.

And so, even though Shirou felt bad about clearly ripping off the farmer, even having repeatedly voiced this, much to the (annoying) amusement of the latter, he brought home 400 grams of tenderloin beef.

And a bottle of wine.

"_Because these have been the funniest twenty minutes of my long life, lad, and I have seen my son in the pigsty."_

Shirou still felt mortified from those words.

So, returning to the flat he shared with Rin (they both refused, probably spoiled by their own houses, to call it home), and checking that he had all the necessary ingredients one last time, he set off to cooking dinner.

He didn't have a lot of time, but everything should be ready for-

*Clink-Clink-Clink-craaaaa*

"_Tadaima."_

"Okaerinasai, Rin! How did the day-*Pffft*"

Shirou had to desperately clam up his mouth to avoid laughing at his girlfriend's state.

After all, it wasn't everyday that her usually neat and clean form was riddled with ash spots, her hair standing up at places like she had just been hit by lightning (he would know, sometimes supposedly harmless experiments just didn't go right) along with her displeased face. All in all, it made for an amusing sight.

"What." She intoned, her tone frigid, while her eyes zeroed in on him. The scent of damp earth and a raging inferno warned him of her circuits beginning to activate, and of his impending doom.

So, he chose the least stupid option he could think of.

"Nothing!"

And went back to cooking, now preparing to return the pork to its sauce.

"Hmm." She stared at him for a few moments before relaxing, the previously almost overpowering scent slowly vanishing. "I am going to clean myself a bit, it seems that today… teacher… was in a more… joking temperament than usual." And with those words she immediately headed to the bathroom, muttering curses that he could hear till the door was shut behind her.

Shirou was pouring the marinade into a pot when he heard footsteps coming from behind. A moment later, Rin's face appeared over his shoulder, her eyes peering down curiously before she plopped her chin down on his shoulder.

Shirou made sure to bend his knees a bit, smiling at the small growl from his girlfriend. Having now the complete dictionary Rinnese-Shirouese in his mind, and understanding that it was non-threatening, he let the sauce thicken.

Then came another growl, deeper and noisier, but Shirou didn't hear it from his girlfriend's mouth.

Maybe it was the heat coming from her ears, maybe it was the small embarrassed sound from her lips, even more probably it was the glare that he saw from the corner of his eye, but, in every case, Shirou knew better than to remark on it.

So he simply asked, his tone as gentle as always:

"Rin, could you please start setting up the table while I finish this?"

Shirou felt a small nod from his girlfriend, still unable to fight her blush, before she left for her assigned task, while Shirou finished his.

While listening to the sound of chairs being dragged across wooden floor, he checked the pork one last time (with Structural Analysis, something he would never admit to Rin) before bringing it to the table, where a mat had already been placed for it.

Rin was rigidly serving out the portions when he returned from hanging his apron and washing his hands. Each of her movements seemed mechanical to his eyes, he could even see the slight pulsing of her temper. After a short, robotic 'I-ta-de-ki-ma-su", she rose the first forkful of the pork to her lips.

Shirou felt extremely satisfied as tiredness visibly receded from Rin's posture with each bite. Her muffled hums of joy were easily perceived by his reinforced ears.

It wasn't a surprise when Rin, with all the possible pride of a woman with a smudge of sauce on her upper lip, proclaimed:

"You know this means war, right?"

For a moment, Shirou just stared at the woman, then, perhaps moved by the bit of pride he allowed himself in his cooking, moved towards her and quickly wiped the sauce with a finger before putting the digit in his mouth.

That alone would have been enough, but for maximized effect, Shirou whispered in the sultriest voice he could manage:

"I am ready whenever you want, Rin."

The corners of Shirou's mouth tugged upwards when Rin's face became as red as the sauce while her wide eyes stared at his finger, her lips trembling, unable to produce anything more than unintelligible, disconnected sounds.

"Something wrong, Rin?" asked Shirou in a concerned tone, quickly filling his mouth with food to avoid laughing out then and there.

Seemed like his acting wasn't good enough as this caused Rin to narrow her eyes at him and glare, before suddenly smirking in a way that triggered all kinds of alarms in Shirou's head. She then spoke in an extremely playful (and dangerous) tone, tilting her head slightly:

"I would like for you to know that turnabout is fair play in this case, Emiya-kun."

A cold shiver ran up his spine at that, maybe he shouldn't have teased her, but he knew that whatever happened next wouldn't hurt anything more than his pride.

_At least he hoped so, because the coy look Rin was giving him, along with that smirk wasn't something he was willing to put a lot of faith in._

_**for better, for richer, and in health;**_

"Ahhhh, she is late today."

It was almost seven p.m., and it was strange.

Not overly concerning, but strange.

After all someone had to be more than a bit mad to attack her inside the Clocktower, and even then he would know.

They _were _prepared, it would be stupid not to be, both with sensors and with friends.

But, even with the pervading racism present inside the institute, the real chances of an attack during the day were infinitesimally low.

The problem would be the dinner that Shirou, in all his very _finite _wisdom, had already started to cook inside the oven.

He wanted to try more western dishes, but now there was the really concern of having to scratch it all up.

His already small pride would be wounded.

And Rin would never stop teasing him about it.

He feared the second much more than the first, actually, for reasons that he wouldn't disclose without Doctor Sakura present inside the courtroom.

*Sigh*

It was strange though…

Well, he could always clean the-

*Ding Dong!*

The buzzer?

The bounded field didn't sound the alarm, and Rin wouldn't ring it, so it could only be-

"Sheeerooo, could you open the door?"

Luvia.

Shirou got up and went to the door, knowing a headache was just around the corner.

When he opened the door, the headache was already there.

After all, seeing Ederfelt "hidden" (very loosely) under a cape, with her blue dress still visible under it, while she was cradling something at her side, didn't bode well for the mental health of future him.

"Ederfelt-san-"

"Luvia, Shero, Luvia! I understand that in the East there is this overbearing formality, but we have known each for a long time due to the flatboard. There is no need for such things between us! Ohohohohohoho!"

*Sigh*

"Ederfelt-san, why are you here?" Shirou interrupted her laugh, much to the irritation of the Scandinavian Magae, who made a face **awfully** similar to Rin's when she was seriously considering throwing a Gandr at him.

It was probably best to avoid pointing out the kinship between the two. The first (and last) time someone did so had led to the faculty instituting an emergency rule to ban anyone from ever making that mistake again. It had been so bad they had to form a task force (with him as the leader and only member) responsible for calming them down when they did get riled up.

Cowards. Even more so because the number of fights had greatly declined recently - only once every two months rather than at least twice a week, a sharp improvement - had only served to make them even more antsy and worried.

A sharp improvement.

"*Cough Cough*" with a hand to cover her (fake) coughing, his friend morphed her (dared he say it?) pout to an all too sweet smile, which made him _acutely _aware that if he stopped her again he would be Gandred: "Shero, you really have forgotten your lessons! What would Auguste say?"

"That I am a smart man?"

He wasn't.

He really wasn't.

He blamed Archer for his sarcasm, and for his incoming punishment.

"Mmm, I will pretend that I did not hear that last part. I come with a gift, after all."

Shirou rose a brow at that, waiting for the bomb to come.

He didn't try to Analyse the package, knowing that it would be …unwise, at least in front of the Magae eyes.

Also a part of him trusted her, and knew that it wouldn't be anything dangerous.

Maybe a prank, probably a vicious one, but not dangerous.

"Well, won't you take this splendid gift, Shero?"

The voice was full of her usual boldness, her back now straighter than before, while her free hand went to her hip.

But her smile was trembling, and her eyes were roaming around wildly.

Insecurity?

Maybe a tinge of fear?

Shirou sighed, and having understood that the young woman didn't... booby trap... the package, took it from her. Now appeased, Luvia immediately turned to the stairs upon which Shirou slightly guiltily asked:

"Luvia, aren't you going to stay over for dinner? It's the least I can do after my earlier rudeness."

A bow was added, the memory of the several lessons "given" to him making it so almost automatically, even if a bit uselessly in this case.

"Oh no, Shero," said Luvia, her tone gone from boasting to gentle, and then, while covering the lower half of her face with a palm, added conspiratorially: "Also, just some advice… I would add that you will probably need a bit of Reinforcement for the night, dear Shero."

*Blink Blink*

"Now I have to go, you _will _have a good night, Shero! And don't you dare say that I gave you the package!"

And, with that, she dashed down the stairs, forgoing the lift beside them, her cape fluttering vivaciously behind her.

For a moment, Shirou could only stand there, torn between a tumult of emotions. Confusion over the strangeness of what just happened unadulterated dread over what was coming, and more than a little guilt over the graceless way he had handled his friend.

There was a bit of hope in there _'or maybe something else, pervert_', but he didn't trust it.

Shaking himself out of his stupor, he went back into the kitchen, closing the door behind him, to make sure nothing had burned while he was away when he heard the familiar sound of a key rotating in the keyhole.

*Clink-Clink-Clink-craaaaa*

He put the package on the table and, with a cheerful voice, greeted:

"Okaerinasai, Rin, how was your day?"

"Black."

One word.

Well, interesting.

It could mean that the day had been harder than usual.

"Come on in, Rin, the dinner is almost ready…"

She simply stood there, her eyes wide, her body trembling slightly, her hands gripping her coat.

"Black."

And she continued to mutter "black".

"Rin…?"

Shirou got closer to her to shake her out of her trance but, when he got to arm range, hers shot out and grabbed his shirt, dragging him nose to nose, his eyes now as wide as hers, almost tearing a fearful shout from him.

But, fortunately for him, she was the first to shout:

"I got the Black, Shirou! The Black!"

Shirou stared at her for a while, his brain taking its time rebooting.

Black?

"Are you talking about the award?"

"No, I am talking about a position in Antarctica. Yes, I am talking about the award, idiot!"

Shirou remained quiet for a moment. Then, with a wide smile, he hugged Rin and lifted her from the ground, eliciting some not so heated shouts from his girlfriend, along with some unconvincing bops on his head.

Eventually, he was forced to put her down. The first words to leave his mouth were congratulations, his voice expressing his joy for the achievement of many sleepless nights, and some tens of pounds worth of coffee:

"That's great, Rin! Or maybe I should call you "milady", after all, you are a noble now."

"Hmmph! Shouldn't I be your princess already, Shirou? I feel insulted, compensation is in order." Rin tried to deflect the teasing with her own, but Shirou had known her for seven years now, he was able to keep up, so, his voice naturally became lower:

"Really, then how do you want for it to be paid: maybe in cash, perhaps some sweets? Will a visit to the park suffice? Or would you like…..me? I have some ideas for the last."

He got closer to Rin's ear, which was becoming redder and redder, and whispered the final shots, in a tone that almost generated vapour:

"Fun ideas."

The young woman's ears became redder than a tomato, and her mouth was eerily similar to a fish, then, in a moment so brief that he almost didn't notice it, she smirked and, making the same movements he did, said, her tone similar to his but for a tinge of…amusement?:

"Then how about you leave the dinner in the oven, and you show me your fun ideas?"

Shirou stilled for a moment, his eyes becoming wide and his heart stopping.

The dinner.

"The dinner!"

There were laughs coming from behind him when he dashed to the oven, and, Reinforcing his hand, he took out the tray from the over 200 C° oven. A sigh of relief came when, after Analysing the meat, he found it to be at the perfect temperature.

"I don't know if I should be flattered by the fact that I distracted you from cooking or jealous that it still has that strong an influence over you."

Shirou turned towards Rin after her amused comment, in time to see her, after having put away the jacket, entering the main room.

Also in time to see her turning towards the package.

He observed with dread when she turned, her eyes closed, her smile present, and said, her tone cheerful:

"Shirou-kun, did you perhaps know about my award and didn't say anything?"

…

'_And don't you dare say that I gave you the package'_.

…

'_Shiiit'_.

In a moment Shirou weighed his two paths.

Both would give him pain.

Both would give him _extreme and lasting _pain_._

But the second would be _twice _as painful.

He wasn't that good as a liar.

So he simply said it:

"Luvia gave me that."

…

Well, at least she was no longer facing him but the package now, her smile still in place, when she turned with her arm raised to-

"Rin no!"

"What? I will not destroy it without any reason, but I am prepared just in case!"

"Rin."

"Open it. In any case, I am ready."

Shirou sighed but did as _ordered_, making sure to let Rin see.

And then he whistled.

There were two separates spaces inside it: one filled with high quality gems, the other, bigger and more protected with a cotton like shelter, a bottle of red wine carefully placed at the center, the cork covered in a golden foil, handmade, and the tag was old.

Then he turned it.

"_Chikushō_…"

"What? What is it?"

Written on it there were three words he could read easily and understand: _Conterno, Barolo and Monfortino, _and a _1998 _date on it.

"A really expensive wine. One thousand pounds expensive."

Rin stared at him.

For a while, she just stared.

He added, repeating what she was thinking:

"I also think it's a 'congratulations' gift, dear."

Turning towards the bedroom, she said:

"Tomorrow, we go to the market. Both of us. Also we will buying a third chair."

Then she went to get changed, leaving Shirou shaking his head in exasperation.

She would be out in a few minutes, and he would have the time to set the table and think for the day after meal.

_It would be exciting, surely._

_**For worse, for poorer, and in sickness**_

"_Tohsaka, if you do that you will make the cup break. Even you should know that."_

*Growl*

"Making animalistic noises doesn't help, Tohsaka. Even if I think that Shirou would be happy for you to hear them when he returns, in the bedroom. *Sip*"

"_Screw you_."

"Why, you would enjoy that, wouldn't you?"

It has become an unexpectedly common occurrence for the Tohsaka-Emiya household, having Lu-Ederfelt coming by.

Root-be-damned headache.

"I know you just thought something rude, Tohsaka." Ederfelt glared at Rin, her brow twitching. Rin sipped her tea to hide her slightly… embarrassed face.

Ederfelt put down her cup and reprimanded, her tonedirect:

"Rin, I know that Shirou is late, but that doesn't excuse your inelegance ."

Rin's cup creaked slightly, but she made sure to not show any other outward reaction. Then she asked, her tone as controlled as possible, while making sure to keep her eyes open:

"What are you trying to insinuate, Ederfelt? That I lack self-control?"

"My, whatever could have made you think that, Tohsaka? After all, I talked about elegance, not control. You never had any in the first place after all. Fufufu *sip*."

Ederfelt ended her own barb with a subdued laugh, which still made Rin's cup creak some more, but she still managed to control it as she commented:

"It seems like it has passed over my attention then due to your own lack of that quality, Ederfelt."

"Oh?" Ederfelt quirked a brow at that, with a small smirk that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Then was I the one who, just this morning, made the class explode due to your- forgive me, _my_ oversight?"

The cup was making more and more noises, but Ederfelt hadn't finished:

"Now, why would I be so absent-minded, I wonder? Maybe it was the difficulty of the subject, that we were repeating for the second time? No, I am much better than this, even if it doesn't give me honour to say it openly. Or maybe it's the fatigue, it does strange things to my head, and I didn't sleep in five days for more than seven hours; maybe it was just my own lack of knowledge in that particular subject."

*Growl*

"Or maybe, just maybe, I am a bit concerned about that apprentice, that third-rate Magus who is Shirou-"

"Finish that phrase and I _will _curse you, friendship or not."

It was said with such flatness, such lack of emotion, that it almost felt like the Finnish Maga hadn't just overstepped her bounds.

The broken teacup said otherwise.

But Rin, after closing her eyes, and taking very, _very _deep breaths, was able to calm herself enough to not immediately explode at seeing her smiling serenely.

It made her _slightly _more annoyed, though:

"What?"

"When was the last time you slept, Rin?"

Rin glared at her, making sure to convey all her annoyance at her flippancy.

"Rin, you need to sleep. What would Shirou-"

"_Luvia._"

One word was all it took for Rin to stop Luvia from voicing her concern, but it didn't stop her from activating her circuits and repairing the cup.

Rin's glare didn't falter from her, but a quirked brow was enough for the question to be posed.

And Luvia answered it swiftly:

"You are too tired and distracted to perform any Magecraft safely. I will clean up while you go to sleep."

Rin shook her head.

"Rin, you need to sleep."

"I don't need to, I can stay awake some more."

"… All right, let's make a deal. I will stay awake, and will call you when Shirou comes. In exchange you will go to take a two hours nap. Deal?"

"…One hour," murmured Rin, feeling her eyelids closing and fighting to keep them open.

"Ok, one hour, now go to sleep, chop chop!" Luvia's cheerfulness didn't exactly help her, but Rin was able to pull herself up and drag herself towards their room.

When she hit the soft bed she almost went out like a light, but had enough presence of mind to take the alarm, her trusty everyday torturer, and made sure that it went off the next hour.

With that, her body shut itself down, the sun still shining outside.

…

…

…

Where was the sun ?

It was April, not January.

She rose her arm, which didn't quite feel like moving in molasses anymore, and, turning on the bedlight, she was able to see the hour.

3 a.m.

She went to sleep around ten hours earlier.

Quickly fumbling with the miniature clock it, she found that the alarm was off.

"Luuu-viii-aaa…"

It was whispered, but the annoyance she felt before was definitely there.

She got up, still clothed with what she had before going to sleep, maybe having been too tired to even change herself. She snuck out as silently as possible following the light filtering from the slightly open main rooms door.

Luvia was sitting there, her head sometimes dropping only for her to shoot it right back up immediately after.

She was so tired that she didn't notice Rin even when she entered the room, and only reacted when she sat in front of her, her eyes still dropping slightly, dark bags clearly visible under them.

"Good…morning? Good morning, Rin."

Rin tilted her head at the sleepy tone of her friend, connecting several dots and immediately coming to the conclusion of the incoming discussion:

"Luvia, there is a guest room prepared, the one to the left, right down the hall . Go there and sleep. Oh, there is also a nightgown in the wardrobe fit to your measure."

Luvia stared blankly at her, then commented in a dry tone:

"It took thirty minutes and three days to make you sleep decently. How can you think that I would do the same? Also why do you have a nightgown of my measurements?"

"Because you will, and because if not I will simply win you over by endurance. And Shirou is an idiot savant who will do anything I ask."

"Really? And why should I lose to you, Rin?" Luvia tried to make herself sound confident, but the act wasn't successful due to her obvious fatigue.

Rin asked herself if she could possibly have looked that bad. Absolutely, surely not.

Right?

"Because you will go to sleep, and the more time you take to get there, the more I will force you to sleep."

_Like you did with me_ went unsaid.

"That's unfair!"

"Life is unfair, deal with it. Now go to sleep, young lady."

Luvia tilted her head and then, likely drunk from fatigue given her wide smile and foggy eyes, commented happily:

"Oh, will you punish me? Or will we wait for Shirou? Doing things in company is always better."

The contents and meaning of her sentence didn't immediately dawn on her.

It took at least five seconds, during which Rin stared at her with wide eyes and an equally wide mouth, a bit of red starting to seep through from her ears.

…

…

"I will go to sleep, goodnight."

Luvia got up, and, with all the dignity possible from an embarrassed young woman, all but ran out of the room.

Rin stared at her retreating figure, trying hard to not think about what Luvia just said, and instead checked up on the prana filled gems and the circle, just in case Shirou came gravely injured.

Without the pounding headache that had been killing her all week, she was able to do it in a fraction of the time it would usually take.

It was perhaps (no, absolutely) for the better that focusing on her task made her able to pretend she had not heard what her friend had said.

It had probably been caused by tiredness, and wasn't what she had meant to say, but for now there were more urgent problems, and Rin knew thinking on it would only result in more chaos at the moment.

So instead, she waited.

Now, someone could ask "Why not use telephones? It would be faster, and it would save a lot of useless stress."

The thought had already been given, and there already was a computer to communicate with Japan, but with cells there was the matter of the fighting itself, and of the nature of the fight.

The problem of traceability with phones were controllable with normal phones, simply because it wouldn't sound so strange.

But someone continuing to talk in the proximity of disasters which didn't leave any survivor? The same person at that?

Even with burners (or whatever Shirou called them), someone would catch on, and with the kind of missions that he took, the attention wouldn't be useful.

So, that's why, for now, she could only sit still biting her nails and thinking of ways to make Shirou compensate her for early hair whitening.

At least the pendant's replica was still active, judging from her own intact one, soShirou was still alive and able to use Magecraft.

The problem was that it only said that.

And, with that problem, came more fear that Shirou had lost himself.

Rin had thought she had been able to steer him off _his _path, but-

*Clink-Clink-Clink-craaaaa*

"Shirou, did you perhaps fight with the Blue?"

-For now, she needed to hide her own concerns when finally, _finally_, Shirou came in.

His clothes were the only undamaged thing on his person: his arms were covered in bandages, like half of his face, and there was a visible limp on the left leg.

The hands, or rather, the digits also had deep gashes on them.

"I would have preferred that." His voice was extremely hoarse and, even if he smiled, his eyes weren't quite there.

"Come here and lie in the circle. I need to see if I need to supplement with my own Magecraft what Avalon already did. Also turn on your Circuits, I need to see if they are damaged." Her voice was firm, making sure he understood she wouldn't accept any excuse.

Shirou did as asked (ordered) and, muttering his Aria, making sure to hold still.

This circle was their child, made with Shirou's knowledge on structural analysis and Rin's more grounded knowledge on normal Magecraft, in this case medical Magecraft, helped by her… family.

She had also been helped by some other people, one of whom she was still annoyed with.

Now it seemed like that annoyance would be shared with this idiot.

"Your leg will need at least one week to be cured, while your hands will take five day. You risked one of your eyes and you had at least one concussion before Avalon took care of it. And all of these injuries were done the day before yesterday. It should have been a relatively easy hunt, what happened?"

The last question was done absent-mindedly, but it was met with silence.

He was just there, his smile hollow and his eyes vacant.

Damn it.

It went badly.

She helped get him up and, after being sure that the wounds weren't worsened by sudden movements, they moved, as silently as possible, to not wake up the guest.

Shirou did notice that someone was in there but this wasn't the first time Luvia crashed in their flat.

When they entered, Rin helped Shirou out of his clothes, without any word from either of them, and then she helped him get into bed. She paid attention to every muffled sign of pain, knowing that he had the unintentional habit of being extremely resistant to it, and so was extremely difficult to read.

After ten minutes had gone by, Rin felt satisfied the idiot wouldn't be more injured than he already was. But just as she was getting up to leave, so that he would be able to sleep more comfortably without her accidentally stimulating his injuries, he grabbed her hand and didn't let go.

There were no other words exchanged between them.

Rin made sure to not occupy too much space and lay beside him, one hand gently rubbing his scalp and the other wiping tears from his face. Like this, they slept.

They would talk tomorrow, making sure that he didn't bottle anything, and then would probably walk aimlessly around the city.

_But, for now, they slept._

_**To love and to cherish until death do us part.**_

"_So they want to kill us."_

Luvia nodded.

"And they talked you into this why…?"

This was Shirou, who was having trouble understanding why Magi, who were supposed to be the height of political savvy, would recruit their friend into a scheme to kill them.

"Because my family still hates the Tohsaka, and because I still make sure to not be seen by the other Magis whenever I visit you through mundane means of transportation."

Meaning bus and metro.

"But you practically live here! They can't be so idiotic!"

Poor Shirou still had faith in the potential of a normal Magus.

The two Magae made sure to show their pity to the poor naïve man, then they turned to each other again:

"So, now that we know what will happen, how would they try to kill us?"

"…They will attack you at your wedding."

*Blink. Blink.*

""What wedding?""

Luvia smirked at the scene of two grown adults being completely out of the loop, but that was soon forgotten when she nodded and explained:

"I made sure to orchestrate a fake wedding, and to hide it as much as possible so the conspirators would think that _you_ were hiding it from others. It also made sense, for them."

Rin had understood, but Shirou only rose his brow and asked"Wait, it made sense? Why would it make sense?"

It would be a good question if they were talking about normal people.

"They are Magi from old families, used to Magorum culture, grown up by Magis parents, who probably fought against their siblings for their crests-" Rin turned away at that, still guilty for that, despite the situation itself had been resolved in the best way possible, but didn't stop Luvia from finishing: "So for them you are almost completely alone here, since all your allies are either hidden or beneath them."

Read: Executors, Enforcers, other freelancers, mundanes, spell casters…

Really a lot of people that they didn't count, and who Luvia had made sure they didn't know about.

"For now I will continue to 'conspire', so that I can give you more information about the attack."

"And how dangerous would that be for you?" asked Shirou. His tone was calm, but his hands clenched tight into fists on the was more openly showing her emotions, biting her nails and glaring at the table.

It made Luvia feel warm, the fact that there was someone who cared about her other than Auguste, but now wasn't the time or the place to think about her feelings.

"There is still no Geass in position, probably given the fact that they do not expect any of the members to tip you off, but I will make sure that they do one so to be able to be both protected and to have a way to-"

"Luvia." Rin's voice was calm as Shirou's, but her eyes were boring inside hers, while Shirou was assisting her in the deed: "What. Are. The. Dangers."

…

Damn it.

They wouldn't budge until she spilled the beans:

"I will probably be disinherited by the Ederfelt family, and, while officially I will not be branded with a sealing designation, I will probably also have to leave the Clocktower due to my… betrayal. The biggest dilemma are the several big families which are taking part in this plot, either due to their hatred against Shirou's father," Shirou nodded unconsciously, knowing what happened when his father's name became more known: "Or because of some ancient feud between the Tohsakas and them," This time Rin ducked her head, unjustly (and Luvia had even explained her so) ashamed for the actions of her grandfather: "Or they just want to take the territory of Fuyuki."

_That _made both shoot their heads up, and now Luvia could _hear _the sounds of swords clashing and explosions in the distance.

Well, at least she had directed them away from trying to stop her.

"Rin, you think that I should pay a visit to these people?"

"I think I will join you in this… pleasant encounter, Shirou."

Root be damned.

"Maybe it's better to plan for this? I think that it would be the least dangerous avenue to at least have some information-"

""Negated, it's too dangerous!"" They both exclaimed, mirroring their words while also making crossing their arms.

Luvia wasn't having nothing of that though, not when they were more in danger than her.

She refused to do that.

"I don't think that you have any power over me in this. I _will _spy on this conspiracy. I _will _give you information that will ensure your own survival. What I _will not do is let you be killed because you don't want for me to be hurt._"

It was a bit insulting, but it was completely countered by the fact that it _was _dangerous, andthat she _would _be risking her life.

It seemed like her words had an effect on the two, who were now silently contemplating what to do.

She just sat there, making sure to maintain her angry face so as to "help" their decision.

"I think that there are some microphones around here. We could put one on you and use it to spy on this plot. But, in case something goes awry, we will crash this circus, Clocktower be damned."

Rin nodded in determination at Shirou's almost blasphemous words, which made Luvia inwardly smirk.

Now, the problem would be to remind these two that they had to fake their own wedding.

_Such a fun thing to do._

_**So I declare you wife and husband.**_

There was a fake cheer and applause coming both around and from her.

Between one clap and another, she continued to mentally revise the plan. She had high expectations, for everything had gone smoothly so far.

First, she and her fellow conspirators had made sure that they had invitations to get inside the ceremony itself.

There came the first stroke of luck, being the hubris of the eastern maggot.

She was so sure of herself, of being untouchable thanks to her relationship with that uncouth mutt, that she had not taken nearly enough precautions.

Now there were twenty of them, and all of them were either Second or First grade Magi, against a maggot and a mutt.

This would be a cakewalk.

Although they weren't the only members present, they were the most Thaumaturgically powerful.

Those who had what commoners would call "soft power" were already preparing the contracts to both take control of the land and... take care of the loose ends through the use of mercenaries, along with covering their traces before the execution.

"Now you two degenerates can kiss each other."

She turned her nose up at the words used by the white haired priestess.

Even if the ceremony would end with the death of the two, and even if the priestess knew of their plan, given the fact that it was Miss Ederfelt who called her, there was no reason to blemish this ceremony.

Traditions would have to be kept, even if they were lurid by contact with such low-life.

With disgust at the forefront of her mind, she almost missed the pain at the end of her digit which showed that the others had activated their own Circuits.

Soon, this sad spectacle would be over.

They would let the two lovers kiss, and then, mercifully, end their lives.

"Prosterne-toi devant la magie, o logique!"

Those were the words to activate her Circuits, and those would be the words that spelled certain doom for the newly wed couple.

It would be her after all who would speak the words…

Inhale…

Exhale…

Inhale…

Exhale…

Come on, she had trained her life to be able to do everything available for her own research, this was nothing!

The death of these two was nothing!

So, with a last gulp of air, she bolted up. She thrusts her open palm forward as she shouted, her voice strong like the impenetrable walls of Jericho:

"Mourrez mille fois mille!"

But, like the wall of Jericho, it became nothing in front of something akin to a pebble.

Because her Mystery didn't activate.

Nor did the others..

She could feel her Circuits burning behind her back, she could feel the magical energy coming from the others, but then why weren't those two dead?!

"Ath nGabla. Truly an incredible rune array, wouldn't you think so, dear friends?" a proud voice, tinged with anger, came from behind her.

Where Miss Ederfelt was seated.

They as one turned towards her, disregarding their original targets and turning to the informal head of this operation, who was smiling coldly at them, her brown eyes boring into all of them.

"What is the meaning of this, Miss Ederfelt!" In the end, she was the one to voice the question spinning in everyone's heads.

"So blinded by your pride, so deafened by your greed, miss de la Barthe, that you cannot think that I simply betrayed you?"

There were shouts of anger.

There were growls of disgust.

But, most of all, there were chills, cold sweats, shaking hands, and trembling hearts.

"But why?!" she shouted, once again, forcing the words out through the lump in her throat: "Why plot with the spawn of the one who violated your family! Who stole your legacy! Who dared to rape your grandmother's sister!"

Miss Ederfelt got up from her seat and, while slowly walking towards her, explained herself, her voice like steel:

"Was it her who did all these heinous actions? Was it her who, practically, stole my- the Ederfelt's family Magecraft? Was it her who geassed my ancestor into marrying her? No, it wasn't her. Rin isn't that person, nor is she like you think, like I thought she was. She is more stubborn, prideful, forgetful and lustful than I thought, for once-"

"HEY!"

"-But she is also kind, she is always concerned for those around her, she is extremely clever, and I have no fear to say that I love her for who she is."

_"Wait, what?"_

"Then there is Shirou. His father was the Magus killer, the one who destroyed the Magic Crest of the Archibalds, one of which we count among our number. "

De la Barthe heard the gnashing of the teeth of the Magi beside her, but kept her eyes on the traitor.

"But is he Kiritsugu Emiya? No, despite sharing both the family name and his title, Shirou Emiya is not the Magus Killer. After all, would a cold assassin be so stupidly altruistic? Or willing to lay his life down for people he didn't know? Would he help those younger students in the Clocktower knowing it would earn him the distaste and wrath of many more? He is just an extremely lovable fellow. So loveable that I fell for him."

_"Eeeep!"_

_"Oh, so the depraved are now three?"_

"Now I have to ask _you_ a question."

The betrayer had now reached de la Barthe's position. She stopped and, locking their gazes, asked:"Is this what you want? I was sure of it, seven years ago. Then I changed my mind fairly quickly. But is reaching the Root all you want?"

She walked beside de la Barthe, who didn't think of stopping her, her mind busy trying to find a way out of this… precarious position.

"Also… I am sorry for doing this in such a way. But sometime we truly have to be cold to save the things that we love."

Confusion took over the French magus while the betrayer continued walking towards the still stunned newlywed couple.

Then she got on one knee in front of them and, with a calm voice, she intoned:

"I hereby surrender to the judgement of Shirou Emiya and Rin Tohsaka and, by my own decision, I surrender."

Dread took her.

She couldn't!

She wouldn't bow to a third rate magus and that maggot!

Then two swords appeared in the hands of the third rate.

"I-" spoke the betrayer, still calm, still smiling, but with a hint of cruelty in it "-would advise for you to surrender as well."

"_**After all, you have already lost."**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Happy birthday**

**Edit of the day after: Thanks to TungstenCat and Lich this chapter now is more readable (as in, in understandble English.)**

_**This man, I marry **_

"_I will marry this couch."_

That sentiment was shared by all three weary habitants of the small house.

It had been three long weeks.

There had been the retaliatory assassination attempts, most of which had been handled by Shirouas the best fighter among them.

Then there was Luvia, who at the moment was busy declaring her undying oath to the couch god. She had been using all her political contacts to prevent more shitstorms from bombarding them.

Last came Rin,who, along with making sure that the bounding fields were always activated, being (slightly!) more magically powerful than the other two, leaned hard on their master's influence to make sure all their efforts weren't undone by their many enemies lurking in the halls of the Association.

It also led to several… mortifying situations, damn that apostle.

But all of that had led to today.

Today there had been an informal reunion between the two parties, which had led to several Geasses.

Those contracts would make sure that this situation wouldn't happen again.

Now…

"_Awawawawawa-" _

Luvia buried her head into the coach, using the soft material to muffle her embarrassed screams. Why did she say those embarrassing thingsssss!?

She wasn't thinking straight due to all the stress!

That was the reason why she blurted them out in the church, it had to be that!

Now what could she do?!

Maybe if she didn't mention it, they would forget about it. Then things could remain as they were no. The two of them together, she their loyal, if underappreciated, friend.

There would be no cause for jealousy, resentment or anger. There would be an ache in her heart, but she could bear it. It was for the best.

"Oi Luvia, why are you on the couch?"

She didn't move, faking sleepwhile the lumbering shadow looked worriedly over her. Her breath hitched while her heartbeat quickened, but she was sure she had them fooled.

Then she heard a sigh, followed by the sound of cloth moving against skin.

She jolted as hands closed around her, squawking loudly as Shirou picked her up in bridal style. She was pretty sure that Rin was laughing in the background, an affront she might have resented but for the rapid beating of her heart. After a few false threats and squeals, Shirou relented and set her on her feet, much to Rin's (and her own) disappointment.

Turning her head and coughing in her fist to hide any sign of blush she had, so that her next words would be as serious as possible, without any trace of her previous thoughts, she addressed her two friends (_friends, yes, even if her heart yearned for more_).

"I need to sleep after all that hassle, you know? Since you're finally free, don't you two want to spend the night together?"

Misdirection, poker face and bluffing was the way to go.

"Luvia." Shirou was deadpanning at her, while Rin was hiding her small smirk behind her hand. "We have known each other for seven years. We respect you too much to keep you hanging."

Oh.

Well, it was due, and it was much better like this.

The mature thing to do was to immediately reject-

"So we want to give thiss… ménage à troiss a go, if you want to try."

Wait, what?

"What?!"

Maybe her tone was a bit louder than she wanted, but it conveyed the sheer _what in the WHAT!? _of the situation.

"Luvia, Luvia, Luvia, you are my rival, you shouldn't be so slow on the upt-HMPH!"

Maybe it was simple, sheer happiness.

Maybe it was the days of stress, lack of sleep and sheer confusion which made her brain go to mush.

Maybe it was just lust strengthened by a need to shut Rin up.

But, in any case, Luvia was kissing her.

"_**Hmmm**__**˜"**_

Frenching her, to be more exact.

After a few seconds, which made even a veteran like Shirou blush fiercely, Luvia stopped the snogging session, the trail of saliva and a dazed Rin the only evidence of what just happened.

Then she turned to Shirou.

Rin was still taking control of her shut down brain, meaning that the only witnesses to the next kiss were Shirou, who was receiving the same Fren-Scandinavian treatment, and Luvia, who was far too high on her emotions to think.

Fortunately (and yes, fortunately), after the second kiss had ended, Rin was able to stop Luvia and, with a fierce blush and short breath, she was able to say, even if she was a bit…dejected :

"Luvia… let's not go into bed in _that _sense… it's a new kind of relationship for all of us... let's take it slowly, 'right?"

Shirou nodded at that, adding calmly and surgically, ignoring the slight pain and the not-so-slight arousal he was feeling now, going by the definite form now in his pants:

"We're all tired. We should sleep for tonight."

Luvia was slightly saddened by what was said, but she understood and not only accepted, but supported their arguments.

But, when she was turning to the living room, Rin grabbed her shoulder and asked, her tone amused:

"Where are you going, Luvia? _Our _bed is that way!"

Now, while all three were quite pleased with the situation, there were some downsides.

It was cramped.

It was uncomfortable.

It was also summer.

_But, for them, it was possibly the best sleep they ever had._

_**In sickness or in health  
I will love this person **_

"_Luvia… what were you trying to do?"_

Luvia didn't answer, continuing to look down at her thumbs, while the new apron on her short-sleeved shirt had several stains of crystallized sugar, flour and strawberries. Shirou swept his gaze over the ruined kitchen, pausing on the burned remains of a pie sitting on the counter.

Still a better first try than his and his old man's.

While Luvia didn't answer his question, she did help him clean the kitchen.

It was a rather silent affair, but Shirou knew Luvia well enough. In this, she was vastly different from Rin: while Rin would be quite mad at her mistakes, and then and only then double up on correcting them, Luvia became almost depressed at hers, while still doing the possible to repair them.

Then, after ten minutes of scrubbing, she spoke in a tone barely above a whisper:

"I wanted to make a surprise for our first month."

First month…

Ah, right.

"Come on, it's nothing that bad…"

It was just a kitchen disaster, something he did countless times.

Also, Shirou wanted to not make Luvia feel sad about a pie.

Unfortunately, he wasn't able to:

"But still, I wanted to make a surprise for you two, and I wasn't able… I am _*sniff* _sorry."

Shirou had the urge to hug her, but he knew she wasn't in a state where it would make things better.

So he straightened his back, coughed loudly, and then exclaimed, in a booming voice he had dubbed _Gilgamesh's imperious tone number 21_:

"So will you remain there, beaten by a strawberry pie, oh great maga? Or will you stand up against this hated foe?"

Luvia stared at him like he was mad.

He just continued, trying to channel his inner (almost non-existent) Gilgamesh:

"So, what do you choose? Glory or defeat?"

Luvia's lips were quirking now as she tried to suppress a laugh. He smiled, knowing he e needed one last, small, push:

"Maybe, just maybe, I will be magnanimous enough to offer my own great help."

Luvia's dam burst. She clutched her stomach as she roared with laughter, to the point of tears.

Five minutes passed as she tried to regain her composure only to collapse again in pales of laughter=, while Shirou just watched her, happy in his own way.

Then, when she had calmed down, rubbing away tears of mirth while a megawatt smile spread across her face, she asked:

"Oh wise one, could you please help me in this endeavour?"

Shirou's response was to take out his own veteran apron and tie it on.

_It was a very good pie_

_**Respect this person  
Console this person **_

"_Damn it, these things are heavy!"_

Shirou had just become a pack mule.

The spring rain was strong, and he had a good fifty kilos package in his arms.

Still far better than studying the _*cough*_ _compatibility of different modern materials with different magecraft, and their uses for the advancement of different types of studies._

He considered himself much better off without such lessons. He was perfectly content with his Tracing and his Runes, thank you.

So, drenched to the bone, he somehow climbed up the last rows of stairs before entering their home.

But when he walked in, , discarding his heavy and soaked burdens in a pile by the door,, he didn't hear the usual "Welcome home" from his lovers, nor any shouts coming from the converted guestroom that served as their workshop.

So he tiptoed down the hall to look in, and sighed at the sight that awaited him.

"Why does this always happen with you two…"

They were both sleeping on the table in the middle, Rin's hands clenched around a sheet of plexiglass, while Luvia's were bound by polyester gauze.

It was the third time in two months that this had happened.

'_I wonder what would have happened if Lord El Melloi had asked to be fast'_.

Really, being the boyfriend of two Magae was sometimes like herding cats.

Maybe he was a bit of a masochist, but he could worry about that later. For now, he had to put them to bed.

Shaking his head, he decided to start with the harder one. Rin clutched the plexiglass like a very hard teddy bear, the same way she did anything within grasp when lost in slumber.

At least, he had a way to stop her deadly grab, a technique honed in years of being said teddy bear.

He blew on her ear.

She moaned a bit and let go of the material. Shirou capitalized to immediately scoop her up and quietly carry her towards the bedroom.

Even a single creak might wake her, meaning she and Luvia would immediately get to work again. Shirou wouldn't let that happen..

Meaning he used Structural analysis to search for even the lightest damage on the wood.

When he depositied Rin on the large bed, he whispered over her ear again and she immediately let go, laying herself on her side.

He allowed himself a nod of satisfaction, and then it was the turn of the light sleeper.

Nothing a reverse _Dagaz_ couldn't solve, and every bit of fleece he could to cushion his steps.

He repeated his earlier actions, moving at a snail's pace to make sure he didn't wake the girl in his arms.

Now, if only the weather was as merciful as they say.

_Mother Nature my ass._

Because when the thunder crashed down as strong artillery fire, it was quite enough to jolt Luvia awake..

Her eyes shot open in shock, her head jerking up to collide with his nose.

It wasn't exactly a light hit.

He bit his tongue to stifle any cries of pain while Luvia sat on the bed next to him, quietly weaving magic over his injury as she made sure nothing was hurt.

Then Luvia padded over to the side of the bed.

"_You sleep, I study," _she mouthed the words with the merest whisper of breath.

Shirou shook his head.

He knew that she wanted to lighten the workload, but the bags under her eyes were cause for concern. He wanted to make something for them to eat together, and set up the additional materials he had brought. And help with the experiments, he could do that too.

So he pointed first at her, then towards the bed

Luvia mimicked him.

They glared at each other with their faces scrunched up, neither willing to budge. Then another roll of thunder split the night, and they both heard a strangled whimper from the bed.

It was Rin.

While she and Shirou both had left the War behind, they were still haunted by memories in the form of nightmares.

Injuries, deaths, betrayals, revelations.

Immediately Shirou and Luvia joined her on the bed, holding the shaking girl between them, hugging and being hugged, until her breathing finally resumed its peaceful cadence.

They both decided to stay there.

And after a few moments, they both fell asleep.

_Luvia and Rin would get their Green with that research.__****_

_**Help this person  
Until death **_

"_Hey Luvia, do you want to marry us?"_

…

…

"All right, that's a strange way to propose, isn't it? At least, I've never heard of such a thing.""

They were watching a bad Z-grade movie, snuggling together with unhealthy snacks. It was a favourite tradition on cold winter nights, their third year of doing so, while a magecraft powered abomination, which Shirou called an "experimental Christmas tree", rested in a corner.

The zombie had just cornered the screaming girl when Shirou and Rin both proposed to her, brushing their hands over hers as they leaned in on either side.

It was strange, but not that much.

It was a far sight better than a spectacular declaration of love in a crowded public place, which would have made her die of embarrassment. While they enjoyed going out to pursue mundane hobbies, either together or alone, they weren't exactly social butterflies.

Also, it wasn't like she hadn't been expecting this. They had been building up to the question for some time.

Luvia found she liked the idea of rituals to bind them, and titles to solidify their shared bond.

Shirou and Rin probably had other reasons, relating to found family and empty houses. But even if Luvia didn't have that ache inside her, she wanted every part of them, she _deeply _wanted to spend her life with them, and the arrangement was working extremely well.

And she loved them.

She had said it before, and she would say it again now.

"Hmmphh. I accept, but I want the right of the first slice of the cake."

From the way their faces lit up in joy, she knew the message was understood and the night became their night. And day.

_And so it continued, unlimited in the everafter._

_**Protecting fidelity  
I swear.**_


End file.
